On the 30th of March, fans gathered in Amsterdam to see quick-rising alt pop singer Déyyess play in Paradiso’s upstairs hall.
With no support act, it was only a short wait until show time. As the instrumental intro to ‘Lights Off’ plays, pink lights shimmered across the stage, against a backdrop with the name Déyyess written multiple times in beautiful cursive. First, the band stepped on stage, consisting of Meg Learmonth (drums) and Charlie Sinclair (guitar, keys, backing vocals). They were followed by Déyyess herself, kicking straight into the performance of ‘Lights Off’.
From the very first moment, their performance was enchanting, sparkling as much as her cotton candy colored backdrop lights. Déyyess is a star at engaging her audience, looking into the crowd, holding fans’ hands, and being visibly excited just to be on stage. The fans this evening were just as sweet: playing ‘if i was ur boy’, Déyyess got handed a Dutch flag that the fans all signed their names on. Following this, the audience got to hear ‘crush’, a new song that incorporates interesting whispery vocals and a chorus that everyone can immediately sing along to.
The venue was not completely filled, but that truly did not matter aseveryone who was there was fully present and so excited. It was noticeable that it was not just those in the front rows, but fans everywhere in the venue singing along to every word, jumping around, giving it their all. Déyyess matched this energy perfectly, engaging the entire venue: she proceeded to sing ‘Me, Oh My’ in the middle of the crowd. On her way back to the stage, she was handed a lesbian flag by a fan, excitedly waving this around while letting fans sing the catchy parts of the chorus into the microphone.
Déyyess and her band are well-attuned to each other, and they put on a near flawless performance, with loud drums and electric guitars making the music all the more fun, bursting off Paradiso’s small stage. Her stage presence seemed effortless as she kept energy and joy at high levels throughout the entire show.
After Déyyess shouted “Amsterdam, you’re so cool!”, a statement this excited crowd truly deserved, they were treated to another new song: ‘well I might just die’. She explained having written this one about “being so in love with a girl that you might just die when she looks at you”, receiving loud cheers from the people who know this feeling all too well. This new song starts slower and builds up to an explosive ending with electric guitars. Talking about explosive endings, the next song ‘Cherry Pie (i think i love you)’ ended with Déyyess making out with her drummer, exclaiming “let’s go lesbians!” afterwards, to which the crowd could only cheer more, lesbian joy always to be celebrated. She ended her set by asking the crowd a question that got straight to the point of the song: “Would you go down on a girl?”, proceeding to play the song titled this.
As she calls herself ‘the people’s lesbian princess’, this show only proved this is a rightful title: Déyyess has everything that it takes to be the next big lesbian pop princess. With her enchanting stage presence, well-coordinated band, so much excitement, and passionate fans, it will only be a matter of time before Déyyess will be seen on bigger stages, spreading lesbian joy and fun pop music.
